Tag: music

Entertainment News

Canada Loses Its Troubador – Stompin’ Tom Connors Dead At 77

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Some people say that Canada has two national athems: “O Canada” and “The Hockey Song” by Stompin’ Tom Connors.

The Canadian icon passed away on March 6, at the age of 77, leaving a hole in the heart and soul of the country.

Connors was a folk musician and a fierce Canadian patriot. He made his way up and down the country, documenting every square inch of every little Canadian town in his songs. He got his nickname because as he played and sang on stage, he stomped his cowboy booted left foot in time to the music.

The songs Stompin’ Tom wrote and sang were songs that Canadians connected with and which drew them together. They were simple, singable and relatable. Songs like “The Hockey Song,” which recounts a hockey game, inning by inning. Or “Bud the Spud,” about a trucker driving a load of PEI potatoes across Canada. Or Sudbury Saturday Night, which tells the tale of ordinary folks enjoying themselves in an Ontario town.

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Kids News

Introducing Ukes To Youths

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The kids at one elementary school in eastern Toronto get to play ukuleles every week.

The ukulele lessons are thanks to Melanie Doane and James Hill, two musicians who helped launch the Ukulele in the Classroom program, an ongoing teacher-training program and ukulele teaching method.

A ukulele is a small string instrument that looks like a mini guitar.

It has a long neck and a hollow body, but instead of having six strings like a guitar, a ukulele only has four.

Making music with a uke is a good way for a big group of people to learn about and experience music.

“It’s a springboard into music,” says Doane.

A uke is small and affordable, so people of all ages can learn the basics of how to play, like plucking and strumming the strings.

From there, groups of ukulele players can learn how to play together to create harmony and layers.

After only a short time, even beginners can create melodies. “Because you can make music, it is so exciting,” says Doane.

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Entertainment

Hip Hop Legend MCA Passes Away

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You may not have heard of Adam Yauch, but you have probably heard of the Beastie Boys.

Yauch – better known as MCA – was one of three members of the legendary hip-hop group from New York City. He died from cancer early this month.

Yauch and the rest of the Beastie Boys were famous for wild, silly songs and wild, silly behaviour.

A perfect example is their most famous song: “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party).”

Yauch taught himself to play the bass guitar in highschool and formed the Beastie Boys for his 17th birthday party along with the group’s two other members: Michael “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Adrock” Horovitz.

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Entertainment Kids

Justin Bieber Is Home For The Holidays

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Justin Bieber came home for the holidays on Wednesday night – to Canada.

The Stratford, Ont.-born teen idol spread plenty of good cheer while visiting Toronto.

One of the first things he did on arriving in the country was to hold a benefit concert and raise $500,000 for Bieber’s Believe charity, for the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada, Sunnybrook Foundation and Project Medishare.

The concert, held at Toronto’s historic Massey Hall, was taped for a TV special that aired on MuchMusic and CTV last night. It was called Justin Bieber: Home for the Holidays.

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Kids Lighter News

Lady Gaga’s Message To One Toronto School

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Students at the Etobicoke School of the Arts had a special guest at their anti-bullying assembly last week.

Lady Gaga sent the Toronto school a specially recorded video message.

The student council president, Jacques St. Pierre, is a huge fan of Lady Gaga.

He had sent emails to several celebrities, asking them to help launch the school’s anti-bullying campaign.

He was thrilled when Lady Gaga read his email and responded.

St. Pierre was the only student at the school who knew about the video until the assembly.

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Arts Politics

Canada Rocks 4 Japan

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Since the earthquake in Japan last month, people around the world have wanted to help. Many people have helped by donating money, clothing, or food.

Artists in Canada and the United States have come up with ways to raise money for Japan. There have been many music concerts in both countries. Recently in Toronto there were three: Canada Rocks 4 Japan, Hope Blossoms Benefit Concert, and Eternal Sunrise Japan Benefit.

A “benefit concert” means that the musicians perform for free, and most of the money made from ticket sales goes to Japanese families affected by the earthquake.

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Entertainment Lighter

Bieber’s In “Shoe” Business

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The Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto recently added a pair of Justin Bieber’s shoes to its collection. The shoes, which he wore in a concert, are on exhibit in a glass case. Dozens of Bieber fans visited the museum last week to look at the famous singer’s shoes.

Bieber’s shoes are in good company. Other shoes in the museum belong to John Lennon, Marilyn Monroe, Queen Victoria and Terry Fox.

Bieber had donated the shoes to a California children’s charity, which put them up for auction to raise money. The Bata Shoe Museum had the winning bid.

It isn’t the first time Bieber’s shoes have been in the news. He recently donated a signed shoe to his old high school, Northwestern Secondary in Stratford, Ont. They sold the bright purple Nike running shoe to raise money for a new broadcast studio.

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News

Spiderman: The Musical (Crash! Ka-Boom!)

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There is a new musical playing in New York called Spider Man: Turn On the Dark, based on the popular comic book character Spiderman.

A musical is a type of play performed live onstage, but instead of telling the story by speaking, the actors sing. The music for Spiderman was written by Bono and The Edge from the band U2.

This musical hasn’t actually officially opened yet, but it has already received a lot of attention and not because it’s a really good musical. Spiderman has received so much attention because many actors have been hurt during the performances. There have been broken limbs, cracked bones and internal bleeding whenever an actor falls from the rafters.

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Entertainment Sports

Christina Aguilera Flubs U.S. Anthem

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The Super Bowl last Sunday was very exciting. The Green Bay Packers won over the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31 to 25.

In the first quarter of the game, the Packers scored two touchdowns. It looked like the game might be a blow-out for the Packers. But then the Steelers scored with just seconds left in the half, putting the score at 21 to 10 at half-time. The Steelers kept the game close, but the Packers ended up winning 31 to 25.

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Arts Entertainment

Young African Pianist Achieves His Dreams

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As a boy, Mehdi Ghazi had a dream. He wanted to be a classical pianist.

But he lived in Algeria, a northern African nation torn apart by a long-standing civil war between government forces and Islamic rebels. The war had shut down the music conservatory. And western classical music was nearly unheard of there—in fact, some called it “the devil’s music.”

Ghazi had no piano. He practiced on a keyboard drawn on a sheet of paper. And he had no teacher, so he taught himself to play.

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